Secret Service thwart attempted White House breach

A former secret service agent who guarded Presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama is speaking out about what he says are problems with security at the White House. The intruder did not get into the White House.

Chaffetz has notified the Secret Service that his committee is investigating the March 11 incident.

The intrusion briefly put the White House complex into a escalated security posture, but the situation has since returned to normal, sources said.

The Secret Service stressed that Tran never made it inside the White House. "The Secret Service does not have the assets, they don't have personnel on the ground they need to keep him safe".

The Secret Service revealed in a statement Friday that an individual recently entered White House grounds and was arrested 17 minutes later. I'm not sure which scenario is worse, although the first one at least has an enjoyable light-comedy premise in which a small-time thief suddenly finds himself in over his head while the Keystone Kops Secret Service chase him around the country.

He was carrying two cans of mace, a U.S. passport, a computer and one of Trump's books, authorities said.

A source familiar with the allegations told ABC News Tran may have been on White House grounds for approximately 15 minutes.

Tran, who comes from Milpitas, California, had reportedly been spotted "looming around" Washington's Pennsylvania Avenue, where the White House stands, almost six hours before his arrest.

"This one scares me probably more than any because of the length of time, the proximity to the president, getting right up close to the White House and going so long without being detected". Also in the letter, Tran said he had "been called schizophrenic".

The official said the device was stolen from a vehicle in the driveway of the agent's home in Brooklyn on Thursday morning.

President Trump, who was on the property, has praised the Secret Service for doing a "fantastic job" and said the suspect was "troubled". The laptop reportedly contains floorplans of Trump Tower.